Improved insole for boots and shoes



N.PI:TERS. PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON D C www WILLIAM WILLIAMS, 0E ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

' Leners Patent No. 89,105, lated ,11ml 2o, 18695K IMPROVED INSOLE FOR. BOOTS .AND SHQS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the lama To all whom tt 'may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM WILLIAMS, of the city of Rochester, in the county of Monroe, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Insoles for Boots and Shoes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,.making part of this specitication.

Figure 1 is a fiat view ofthe insole lcomplete.

Figure 2, a cross-section in plane of line a; a', fig. 1.

' Figure 3, a similar view, with the parts separated.

Like letters of reference indicate Acorresponding parts in all the figures.

. My invention consists in a combination of parts, in which the bottom layer is composed of paper, painted, or equivalently prepared on the bottom, to exclude moisture, and in which the body is composed of paper, felt, and cloth, the whole sewed together, the eiect being to exclude the outside moisture at the bottom, and absorb the moisture from the foot at the top, as hereinafter described.

In the drawings, a is the bottom layer, which is made of paper, and has on the under side a coat of oil-paint, or India-rubber preparation.

b is a piece of porouspasteboard, placed on top the painted paper.- y

c is a similar piece of felted hair, placed abovethe pasteboard, with a strip, al, of oiled wood placed between at the instep; and

fis the top covering of cloth, which encircles the edges ofb and c, and is pasted between b and a.

Thus combined, the whole is passed through a sewing-machine and stitched, as shown at g.

The novelty of this invention consists in the combination and arrangement ofthe' parts, whereby the lower layer, a, is covered with a water-proof preparation, to exclude the moisture that enters through the soles, and in which the whole upper portion is made porous and absorbent, to take up the perspiration of the foot.

Felt has before been used in insoles; also pasteboard Vand cloth.

It is only the specified construction and arrangement of the parts, forming one entire porous and exible body on top, and a thin water-proof layer at the bottom, that I claim. 4

In this combination, the cloth serves simply to enclose and bind the other parts together'. The felt is the great absorbent, while the pasteboard serves simply to give stiffness and form, offering at the same time the greatest degree of absorbent action and exibility that can be attained in a cheap material. No impervious material, except the bottom surface, is employed, and nothing inexible is embodied in the device.

The employment of the strip d of oiled wood in the instep prevents that part from wrinkling and breaking,

reason that coming so closely in contact with the feet, they would be cold and uncomfortable. The thin stripv of wood, which answers as a stay and strengthener instead of a spring, answers the purpose perfectly.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

. l. The arrangement of the felt next to the cloth j;

which forms the foot-lining, and between it and the porous paper, in combination with the oiled or Waterproef paper at the bottom, the edges of the cloth being turnedin and interposed between the layers, substantially as set forth.

2. For the purpose of an insole-stiffener, the nonelastic but flexible shank, applied substantially as described.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name I 

